And They Were Roommates
by sapphicGarland
Summary: Oh my god they were roommates Rose has been accepted to Skaia University and her roommate...is the most beautiful being she has ever laid eyes on.
1. Chapter 1

This...wasn't exactly what Rose expected when she applied for this university. Of course she had heard of trolls, her natural craving of knowledge drove her to research all about them, but seeing an alien in real life isn't exactly the same as seeing them in a Google Image search. Living in the woods came with things like being isolated and seeing very few other human beings, much less trolls. She thought perhaps she should have expected feeling such a way, after all they were aliens. Refugees after their planet...basically exploded. Mostly low or mid bloods as any higher ups didn't have to worry, after all, the empress could take care of them. But nobody else. She never struck Rose as a very compassionate ruler. Of course, there were a few highbloods, but not many. Or, so she heard.

After coming down from the initial shock, Rose made her way to her dormitories, passing grey and human skinned students alike. The aura some of these trolls gave off was...well she didn't know what to call it. Which was definitely unusual for her.

Rose walked up to the front desk, asking for her room number and information. The lady behind the desk smiled, "Ah, Rose Lalonde! I've heard rumours the professors and headmaster was very impressed with your essay."

Rose smiled back, "I hope that's true...otherwise I got in by chance," She laughed softly, taking her key.

"I hope you like your roommate and have a great time here at Skaia university," She smiled as Rose walked away, heading up the stairs to find her room. Staring up at the bold 413 on the door, she took a breath and reached for the door handle. For once, she kind of wanted her mom with her.

Opening the door, she was greeted to the sight of clothes and sewing kits, the strong smell of some kind of incense, and a...strangely beautiful troll sitting behind a desk, staring intently at a sewing machine the same way Rose stares at a pen. Rose, hesitantly, cleared her throat, setting her suitcase down by the door and closing it behind her. The troll jumped, looking up at Rose with a startled look, "Oh! I must apologize for the mess, I forgot I'll have company today." She jumped up and made her way to Rose, "You must be Rose, my new roommate, yes? I'm Kanaya, a pleasure." Her voice was punctuated, like every word was both her first and last, a perfect accent and a sophistication in her voice that made Rose feel like she was talking with the most intelligent, beautiful being in existence. Suddenly, Rose was breathless, and it was all she could do to stare at the troll, examining every feature of her.

"Ah-I apologize, I forget some may not be accustomed to my appearance," Kanaya smiled kindly, taking a step back,

"Ah-No!" Rose rushed to assure her, shaking her head, "No, I apologize. It is truly a...new experience for me...I must admit to that but...no I hold no prejudice or caution, I promise. It's just...Well...strangely enough I don't seem to have the words…"

Kanaya laughed, a sound that, for an unknown reason, made Rose's heart leap out of her chest and into the troll's arms, "That's quite alright. Allow me to clean up," She turned away, quickly cleaning up the cloths and fabrics, putting them away in a drawer and on a shelf.

Rose slowly made her way to what seemed like her side of the room, "I assume this is mine, then?"

Kanaya looked up, nodding, "Oh, yes. I was thinking we would split it in half, so you have all of this to do whatever you want with it, and I with this room."

Rose nodded, "That seems satisfactory to me. I don't have much, though. I only took what I needed to. Home isn't entirely something I...want to remember all that much."

Kanaya sighed, tilting her head in sympathy, "I can understand that. Alternia had...the prettiest skies...I had some good friends, and the best lusus but...All that pressure...and prejudice amongst my own kind. Earth is...very different. It's not...better exactly but...I don't have Her Imperial Condescension to look out for anymore."

Rose smiled, "I understand. I didn't exactly have the pressures of my blood to live up to but...when your mother is a drunk that still...tries her best I suppose...it can get very confusing."

Rose turned away to put up what stuff she had. Blankets, her laptop, knitting needles, and some clothes. Rose bit her cheek, anxiety welling up as she realized what she had committed to. Sleeping in the same room as a stranger she felt oddly attached to...inevitable folding under the pressures of university...drama between classmates...and, if she went through with it...never returning home. Rose collapsed on her bed, head in her hands as she realized...holy shit.

Rose jumped at the gentle touch of a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Kanaya sitting beside her, smiling kindly at her, "I understand. I felt the same way when I arrived. This is all so new...but hey, at least your home didn't blow up," She laughed, carefully bringing Rose in for a hug, "In all seriousness, however, you have every right to be anxious or...agitated in any way. You're in a new place, and I...am here for you if you need anything."

Rose smiled, relaxing into the hug. She didn't know why it comforted her so much, not at the time.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose had a few days before her classes started, giving her adequate time to adjust to her new home and campus. Kanaya, having a couple days off as well, took time to show her around and even introduce her to a few friends. There was Karkat, the 'angry but secretly really caring one', according to Kanaya. Sollux, the 'introverted and grumpy hacker', Tavros, the 'one who doesn't know what he's doing with his life, but he tries', Roxy, John, Jane who were all together, romantically speaking, and Calliope who didn't currently reside on Earth yet. To quote Kanaya, 'don't ask'.

Then, of course, there were a few friends Rose already knew; John, Jade and Dave (Karkat's boyfriend).

Kanaya also took the time to point out some other kids. They were sitting in one of the campus' many cafeterias, when one troll girl, in particular, walked by with another who waved at Kanaya's group of friends.

"Who was that?" Rose asked after they walked out of earshot, leaving the cafeteria.

Karkat spoke first, "Terezi, my um…."ex?" And her current morail, Vriska. Terezi is the one that waved. She's cool but her morail is...well, she's gotten better since getting with Terezi but she's still pretty bitchy."

"That's just bluebloods, though," Sollux mumbled, typing away on his computer and barely touching his food.

Rose nodded, "Morail could be described as a 'platonic soulmate', correct?"

"Yea, basically like...a best friend but romantic styles. Calms you down and shit," Dave said, before looking to his boyfriend for confirmation.

"They don't _usually_ have sex, though," Karkat added.

Dave and Karkat's relationship didn't stick to one quadrant. Though Karkat seemed adamant in describing their interactions through troll romance terms, they both decided to go about it like human dating.

"Oh, right. And what is it with bluebloods?" Rose asked though she wasn't sure if she really should.

Kanaya took a breath before beginning her explanation, "well...generalizations aren't usually accurate but...bluebloods seem to have this tendency to...think more with cold reason, I suppose? Any emotion they may have is tossed aside in order to climb up and their methods can often seem cruel. Vriska was a prime example of that. Since being with Terezi, though, she still relies on reason but Terezi seems to remind her to be kind and apply less cruel methods."

The others, except for Jade, Roxy and Jane nodded in agreement. They hadn't been able to spend that much time with the trolls outside of the immediate circle.

As Kanaya and the group later told Rose, they used to all be friends back on Alternia. After finding refuge on Earth, they started drifting apart as they grew older and less toxic. Vriska was especially a toxic person before a near-death experience with Terezi brought them together. Even though Terezi was behind Vriska's near-death experience, but they don't talk about that.

"So basically she's a huge bitch," Karkat mumbled before stuffing his face with some of the 'contemptible' troll food the school offered. Kanaya's words.

After lunch, the school finally emailed Rose's schedule. Kanaya showed Rose where her classes would be. She seemed to know the school inside and out. When Rose pointed that out, Kanaya just shrugged, "After we came to Earth, I took a lot of time memorizing locations and earth architecture. When I got in here, I especially made sure to commit every detail to memory."

"Ah, because you always felt so lost when it came to humans and Earth culture, you wanted to be sure you were never physically lost?"

Kanaya smiled, nodded, "That is...yes." She laughed softly, "You are going to be great in psychology class. You are taking a troll psych class, correct?"

Rose nodded, "If trolls are going to be living with us, I want to be able to understand your culture and psyche just as well as I can understand a human's."

"Troll psyche is...pretty abnormal for human standards. We tend to be a pretty violent race. I hope the class doesn't scare you off."

Rose shook her head, "The teacher is a troll right? I'm sure the material won't be so biased."

Kanaya sighed, "It is not bias, Rose. Trolls require a relationship _just_ so they don't kill everyone. And a different relationship just so they will not kill their lover. Trolls are very violent for human standards. Your species, despite the wars and tragedy littering your history books and modern news, is incredibly peaceful compared to mine."

Rose stopped walking to look at her, taking a breath, "Kanaya, you're probably the most hospitable roommate I could have asked for. You are one of the nicest friends I've ever had and not once have you tried to kill me despite your lack of a morail. No matter what I learn about how innately violent trolls are, that's not going to make me think any less of you. In fact, it may allow me to understand you better and grow closer to you."

Kanaya smiled, her face showing a light shade of green beneath her cheeks, "Thank you, Rose. That means a lot."

Rose smiled back, a light blush tinting her cheeks as well, "So, um…" She stumbled, laughing quietly at her own awkwardness, "That's all of my classes, right? Shall we head back?"

Kanaya nodded quickly, walking with Rose back to their dorm room. Both girls managed to get the room looking decent. All fabrics and clothes were now organized and put away on Kanaya's side of the room. Rose had already unpacked everything. She was determined to be neater now that she had a roommate, so everything was staying where it needed to go.

"Do you want to watch a movie? I have a few movies from Alternia." Kanaya sad as she sat down, pulling out some discs from her bedside drawer.

"Sure! What do you have?" Rose sat next to her.

Kanaya pulled out the movies and put them on the bed between them "I have a few romcoms Karkat forced me to watch. Some of them were not that bad. I actually ended up liking 'In which the main protagonist is an outcast because she is a lowblood whose only friends are her older boss, and her quirky classmate who is flushed for her. When one of the highbloods asks her out, it seems too good to be true. As the lowblood starts falling for the cerulean, she begins to realize that dating someone from a different social sphere is not easy.' Which I did not expect.

Rose laughed, "That sounds almost exactly like Pretty In Pink. Just more Alternian."

Kanaya nodded, "This movie was actually banned for it's 'unrealistic depiction of lowbloods'. Which basically translates to 'they weren't depicted as dirty gutterbloods and the movie makes highbloods look bad."

Rose nodded, "I'd love to watch it then."

Kanaya grinned and hurried to put it in. Both girls laid down on the bed as the movie started. There were no ads because of the movie's illegal status, according to Kanaya.

As the day turned dark and the movie continued, Rose and Kanaya slowly leaned into each other. Rose rested her head on Kanaya's shoulder as she rested her head on Rose's Eventually, about halfway through the movie, Rose found her head in Kanaya's lap. She was too sleepy to care or even notice though, as was Kanaya, seemingly. Rose watched the credits roll with half-closed eyes before they both fell asleep. Somehow, they ended up tangled in each other's arms.

Rose was the first to wake. The first to realize she had just woke up cuddling her new friend. Slowly, she crept out of Kanaya's bed and quickly left for the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay...Okay…" Rose whispered under her breath, pacing the bathroom floor, "So you woke up in your new friend's arms...so what? You fell asleep in the same bed. You were seeking warmth! You didn't have any control over it." Rose took a breath, still not convinced, "You're lonely since starting college so your unconscious body sought out the nearest friend it could find. It doesn't mean you like her!" She laughed as if the very thought was ridiculous, "No! Of course not! You haven't even known her for a week!" Rose gulped, standing in front of the mirror. Her hair had gotten longer than she wanted...but so had this panicked feeling deep in her chest. Her inability to convince herself that she felt no attachment to the troll sleeping in the other room only made the feeling last longer. Is this what Dave was talking about? Gay Panic?

Rose heard Kanaya begin to wake up. Rose put her ear to the door. She heard Kanaya mumbling to herself.

"Rose must have departed for breakfast already." Rose thought Kanaya sounded...almost sad when she said that. Rose hesitated before opening the door, trying to look surprised at Kanaya waking up.

"Oh, good morning, Kanaya," Rose smiled, quickly going to her dresser, "Breakfast?"

Kanaya nodded, turning to pick out her own clothes, "Did you stay awake long enough to finish the movie?"

Rose nodded, "It was very interesting. How accurately did the film depict the social tensions between blood castes?"

"It's fairly accurate. It is a movie so they, of course, couldn't encompass everything. Not to mention, I am a jade blood so I'm not exposed to the same prejudice and circumstances lowbloods are, but I can say that is very close to how lowbloods are treated in real life."

"Are?" Rose looked up. Since the trolls left Alternia, Rose assumed the discrimination and 'hemophobia' at least wasn't as bad as it was.

"Well, I suppose I mean 'were'. Lowbloods are still discriminated against by highbloods here, but not nearly as bad. And it's not systematic here like it was on Alternia."

Rose nodded, "Do you ever fear it will be?"

Kanaya shrugged, shaking her head, "I do not know. I hope not, in any case."

Rose sighed, going back into the bathroom to change.

Rose and Kanaya made their way to the cafeteria, greeted by some of their friends. Dave, Jane and Jade were waiting for them. As the two entered, Karkat followed behind them, dragging a grumpy, complaining Sollux along with them.

"You need to eat something or you're going to die in there," Karkat grumbled, "Is that how you want to go? Like a sad sack of shit, cooped up in your respiteblock all alone? Typing away at that piece of garbage you call a husktop?"

Sollux just let out an annoyed, incomprehensible noise, making sure his laptop didn't fall out of his arm.

Rose smiled as Karkat marched past them, "You're right, Karkat does really care...even if he can only show that through aggression. I wonder why that is."

Kanaya smiled back at her, shrugging, "You'll have to ask him. I have my suspicions but I am not at liberty to discuss."

Rose nodded as they sat down to eat breakfast. Rose's classes started that day, as did Kanaya's, so they made sure to eat quickly so they could both make sure Rose was prepared. Rose thought the gesture was particularly kind. Part of her, 13-Year-Old With Mommy Issues Rose, was tempted to see the act of kindness as passive aggressive, a challenge to one-upmanship on who can act nicer. However, she learned her lesson when she watched her mother's attempts at sobering up as she received her college acceptance letter. When Dave admitted to her the abuse he suffered at Bro's hands without ever realising it.

But Rose didn't want to unpack that right now. All that mattered is that she saw this act of kindness for what it was and did not over analyze it, attempting to demonize the troll who had been nothing but courteous to her.

As Rose started her first class for the day, as the teacher read through the syllabus and expectations for his students, she wondered if she would be okay.


End file.
